


Grimmstuck

by victorienne (orphan_account)



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F, F/M, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-01-31
Updated: 2012-02-10
Packaged: 2017-10-30 10:30:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/330749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/victorienne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A medieval fairy tale AU with much fluff and intrigue and romance in all quadrants.</p><p>Skaia is a land of princes and thieves, sorcerers and knights, war and peace. As Skaia's kings war and cut deals, young humans and trolls are brought together, throughout time and space, by magical books. Love and hate and friendship blossom in times of prosperity and of hardship as they strive to realise what they really want.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Trade (Dirk/Jake 1)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for dropping by to read this! The idea came about when I decided to write a highly self-indulgent piece of Dirk/Jake fluff that turned from a one-shot into a multi-chapter piece into a whole AU. *shrug* The chapters for each pairing will be interspersed (i.e. Dirk/Jake chapter, then John/Dave chapter, then another Dirk/Jake, etc.), and I'll likely be adding/removing pairings until I get the whole thing fully in gear.  
> In fact, if you have a pairing you'd like to see included which does NOT conflict with any I've got in the works, please let me know! I'd love to make this a collaborative sort of thing, and I love getting input! If you'd like to make a suggestion or ask a question, let me know here, or (even better) drop by my tumblr: [grimstuck.tumblr.com](http://grimmstuck.tumblr.com) . I don't bite! (I do, however, give ridiculous virtual bear hugs for no reason--you have been warned...)
> 
> TL;DR This is a work in progress, and I'd love to have your input if there's something you'd like to see (though I can't guarantee anything)! Let me know if you have a suggestion either here or on my tumblr: http://velvet-lantern.tumblr.com .
> 
> Thanks, and enjoy!

There was once a young prince who was always alone. He didn't really want to be alone, but his brother, the king, was often away, attending to various "stuff" and "things" around the kingdom. But the prince was confident and knew how to handle things in his brother's absence and appreciated the time he had to himself. The prince was a great scholar and inventor and used his free reign in the castle to learn and to create amazing things.  
But on occasion, he wished someone else could appreciate what he knew and made. So, one day, he made a magical pair of glasses that could speak. He knew no one else, so he made the glasses' personality a copy of his own. For a time, the prince enjoyed the witty banter he and his glasses had. But eventually, the glasses lost their novelty, and he grew lonely once more.  
One day, a beggar came to the palace. The beggar promised that she would reward kindness with a magical favour the like of which even the prince had never seen. The prince, still consumed with loneliness, considered her proposed exchange.  
"What would you ask in return for your favor?" asked the prince.  
"What would you give to me?" said the beggar.  
The prince cast about for something of value to give the beggar. His hand brushed the hilt of his prized heirloom sword which his brother had granted him. Encrusted with beautiful jewels and engraved with symbols of the realm, this sword would certainly prompt an excellent return.  
"This sword is worth more than half the kingdom and basically just fucking badass. What would you give me for this?" asked the prince.  
The beggar smiled crookedly. "You are generous, prince. Or perhaps you are greedy. I will give you what you want," said she.  
"And what do I want?" asked the prince.  
The beggar produced, from within her shawl, a small, tattered book and pressed it into the prince's hands. "Write in this book, and you will find what you seek."  
"Yeah, thanks. Can we trade back? I don't need another piece of shi-- Fuck."<  
The beggar woman laughed and dissolved into a cloud of smoke which floated through a window high above the throne.  
"Oh, fuck this."  
The prince, unaccustomed to being the one deceived rather than doing the deceiving, was quite distraught over his own foolishness. But, determined to make some use of this piece of shit, the prince returned to his own chambers to scrutinise the book. It seemed, to him, an ordinary, blank book.  
"Man, I hope this isn't some 'write about your feelings' bullshit," said he. But even so, he picked up a quill and, dipping it into a pot of orange ink, began to write.

> So, Book, where's the reward I was promised?  
>  I'd rather not break it to my Bro, when he finally gets his ass back here, that I pawned off the sweetest fucking sword in the realm for a shitty empty book.

  
When he had finished writing, the prince leaned back in his chair and sighed. But suddenly, words, dark green in colour, scrawled themselves onto the page.

> Sounds like a rather lousy day youve been having chap!  
>  Or perhaps youre not a chap.  
>  In which case, sorry about that.  
>  I shouldnt assume things!  
>  Uh hello?  
>  Anyone there?

  
The prince had nearly fallen out of his chair when the writing began to appear, but he quickly regained himself and picked up his quill once more.

> Yes, I'm here.
> 
> Brilliant!  
>  This your first time writing?  
>  In this book i mean?
> 
> It is.
> 
> And for the sake of clarification so i dont continue making further errors are you a chap?
> 
> I am.
> 
> Excellent.  
>  Er not that it wouldnt have been fine if you werent in fact a chap.  
>  *clears throat*  
>  Not very talkative, then, eh?
> 
> I suppose not.
> 
> Well the book throws everyone a bit for a loop.  
>  Would you like me to ramble on then?

  
The corner of the prince's mouth rose slightly.

> If you'd like.


	2. A Meeting (Dave/John 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always forget how exposition-heavy fairy tales are... and my usual style is usually pretty much no-exposition-ever. *flail* Let me know if my style is drifting or how you'd like to see it written. More exciting things after the exposition-y chapters are done! Also: Suggestions! Pairing suggestions, event suggestions, headcanons, whatever--comment here or send them to my ask box on the Grimmstuck tumblr: <http://grimmstuck.tumblr.com>! Thanks for reading, ya'll. <3
> 
> (Also, pro-tip for pronunciation nerds: "Zeitheim" is a compound and pronounced in two parts (Zeit-Heim); there's no "th" sound in German like in English. ^^)

Once upon a time, after many years of troubled relations, the kingdoms of Zeitheim and Hauchland signed a treaty of everlasting peace. With this treaty, the two kingdoms hoped to bring new prosperity to their own lands as well as serve as an example for nearby kingdoms consumed by strife. At least, such were the altruistic motives of the heir to the throne of Hauchland.  
The heir was a peerless warrior in possession of all of the mangrit, but he had no true love of violence. The people of Hauchland loved their gentle prince, but he refused ever to be referred to as “prince,” finding it too lofty and distant. He tended to prefer just “John” or “Egbert,” but eventually had to consent to being called the “heir.”  
The heir had anticipated the signing of the treaty for months, not in small part because he would at last be able to meet his best friend, a knight of Zeitheim. They had, for several years, corresponded with the aid of magical books and, in that time, they had come to the understand one another. Well, they had tried, anyhow. The heir was relatively certain the knight would always be a bit inscrutable. But their friendship had convinced them to argue in favour of peace between the kingdoms, if only so they could meet to exchange pranks and sick beats and cause their own havoc.

After many weeks of preparation, the Zeitheim delegation was due to arrive for a grand celebratory feast. When the delegation came at last, the heir was very near to jumping out of his skin with excitement. As the kings gave grand speeches, the heir scanned the room in an attempt to locate his friend Dave. He considered that he should have asked what he looked like. The heir saw many knights, but he could not decide which one might be the one he was looking for.  
By the time the speeches had ended and all were called to the table, the heir was a bit distraught, thinking that he might be kept to his seat at the table the entire night and be unable to find his friend. Wracking his brain for what he might do, he took his place at the right hand of his father, the king. Sitting beside him was a Zeitheim knight wearing unusual dark glasses. The heir smiled at him politely before returning to planning.  
“'Sup, Egbert?” said the knight.  
“Dave?” asked the heir, surprised out of his plots.  
“Yeah. Hey,” the knight replied.  
“Hey! I was wondering how to find you, but here you are!” John laughed, taking in the oddities of the knight sitting on his right.  
“Yup.”  
“If we can escape after dinner, we should spar in the lists! I've been looking forward to this!”  
“Yeah, sure. Who am I to deny you an asskicking?”  
“Yeah, right, Dave! There's no chance you're going to win!”  
“Ha, you tell yourself that, Egbert.”  
And so, a friendship for the ages was begun.


	3. A Spell (Sollux/Aradia 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking I'll make the update schedule Tuesdays and Thursdays, since those days are when I tend to have time to write these. Sorry the chapters have been short and unexciting so far! I'm a flash fiction writer by habit, so I'm best writing things in short bursts! More exciting events will be coming as the stories move along. :)  
> Also, would anyone be interested in sort of one-shots in this AU for pairings I'm not including in the longer storyline? as a sort of AU to the AU? I would keep them all on [tumblr](http://grimmstuck.tumblr.com), and they would not be part of the "canon" of the interwoven storyline Grimmstuck is taking. What do ya'll think?  
> Thanks for reading, ya'll! <3

At the same time, in a distant land as well as a land not-so-distant, a maid and a mage were making use of their own magical books to converse.

> are you 2ure the 2pell diidnt work?
> 
> i see n0 difference ribbit  
>  at least n0t the right 0ne 0_0
> 
> what wa2 that?
> 
> i dont kn0w  
>  its been happening since the spell y0u tried
> 
> oh 2hiit.  
>  iit ii2 kind of funny though ehehe.
> 
> 0_0
> 
> iit2 ok.  
>  iill fiix iit.
> 
> d0nt w0rry ab0ut it  
>  ill be 0k ribbit
> 
> no iill fiix iit.  
>  2hiit ii have two get back two work now.  
>  iill 2end you another 2pell two try later.
> 
> 0k

  
The mage snapped his book shut and quickly began scouring tomes for the spell of boil removal the king had requested. _My job fucking sucks_ , thought he as he leafed through his spellbooks. As he did so, his mind absently drifted to thoughts of the maid.  
She had once been cheerful and charming—a perfect balm for the mage's not infrequent shows of less even temper. But one day, she had been out exploring an ancient ruin, as was her favourite pastime, when she was stricken with a powerful curse. Ever after, she had been melancholic and dull. It was like speaking with a statue—a frog statue, after the mage's latest failure.  
The mage had never managed to coax from her the details of the circumstances of the curse, no matter how kind or obnoxious he tried to be. This fact frustrated him greatly, since, without knowing the exact spell which was used, he could only take shots in the dark to find a spell for reversal. And with his latest spell, he had evidently made her a frog. _I am such a dumbass_ , thought the mage as he scribbled down the king's requested spell and left his tower with a slam of his door.  
  
The maid, however, was feeling relatively OK about the whole event. It had been a long time since she had felt not-OK about anything. After the curse, she had simply continued going about her work as a handmaid in the king's castle in the capital of Zeitheim. She no longer needed to distract herself from her work with things like archaeology and felt more-or-less content with a lot of things.  
But as she gave a great hiccuping ribbit while carefully dusting a priceless urn, nearly knocking it from its pedestal, she considered these attempts to reverse the spell might well be more harm than they were worth.


	4. A Song (Gamzee/Tavros 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! I blame [distractions](http://askdirkandjake.tumblr.com). I'm trying to work my way through all the first chapters for each of the main pairings I'm doing before moving the storylines forward. Sorry for just sort of spitting a bunch of itty bitty introductions at you all in a row! I just like writing short, concise pieces. /shot
> 
> Thanks for reading, and keep sending me pairing requests! Even if they conflict with the ones I have planned, I'll try to throw in a little something for them! <3

The delegation from Zeitheim had kept the royal pages of Hauchland exceptionally busy. However, one of them always worked harder than the others by virtue of both his physical condition and his personality. This page, whose name was Tavros, had lost the use of his legs some years earlier, but he had always dreamed of being a knight. He'd known this dream was over when he could no longer walk, but he eventually summoned the courage to beg the king to accept his lance, for what it was worth. After considerable help from Hauchland's heir in arguing his case, Tavros was made a page.  
It was obviously more an honourary rank than anything, but the page didn't mind. He was easily intimidated (he was forever surprised he had ever attained the confidence to approach the king in the first place), but he always did his best to prove himself. Admittedly, doing busywork for the king's knights wasn't quite the vision he'd had when picturing himself as a page, but he worked hard and was well liked by everyone.  
  
The page serving the main course at one of the many feasts given in honour of the peace between Hauchland and Zeitheim when, by some strange and miraculous occurrence, a bard strode into the great hall. This bard was well known throughout Skaia as one of the most exceptional and unusual musicians of that time.  
“Hey, what's up my brothers and sisters?” asked the bard. Even his speaking voice was dynamic and lyrical. “I heard you motherfuckers were having a party for this peace treaty thing. I'm all about the live-and-let-live, so thought I'd make an appearance.”  
The page nearly dropped the plate he was removing from the table. This bard had visited Hauchland castle before, and the page had greatly admired his music. At the time, however, he had been too nervous to speak with him. He had beaten himself up about being too easily intimidated, so this time, he resolved to talk to the bard, no matter what.  
As the page carried plates and bowls in and out of the hall, his stomach knotted as he considered ways to approach the bard after the feast. But, as it happened, the page had little reason to be nervous about approaching the bard, for after the feast, the bard came to him.  
“What's hanging, bro?” asked the bard.  
“Uh, not much, I guess. What's, um, 'hanging' with you?” said the page in return.  
“Aside from all this motherfuckin beautiful music and food and peace and shit?” The bard said, laughing. “I dunno, not much, I guess. I just wanted to say 'Hey,' 'cause I remembered you from that last time I was here. You seemed like a pretty cool motherfucker.”  
“Uh, thanks! I really like your music.”  
“Thanks— Uh, what's your name, bro?”  
“Tavros.”  
“Thanks, Tavbro. I'm Gamzee. Nice to meet you, man.” The bard ran his fingers through tangled, curly hair. “I should go talk to those other bros over there, but I'll catch you later, Tavbro.”  
“Oh, sure thing! Nice to meet you, Gamzee!” said the page as he gave the bard a fist bump.  
The page suddenly felt both more and less flustered, but as he rolled back to the kitchen in his four-wheel device, he felt relatively pleased with himself, on the whole.


End file.
